We made it halfway through the week. Work is beginning to pick up and it looks like it will be that way through the rest of the 2nd quarter. This is primarily because other companies are dropping support for the ATS, but any news is good news.

A guy I worked with at PDS passed away about a week ago. I can’t say I knew Olin Oliver well, he worked in the financial department and he got in super early as did I so we talked occasionally in those early morning hours. We didn’t see eye to eye politically and I had snoozed him for 30 days at the beginning of the year but that had passed and I saw a post about two weeks ago of him and his wife out at an event. The next thing I knew I got a FBM from Regina saying he had passed. Still not sure of what. He was 59 and spent 42 of those years married to the love of his life Debbie. I’m sad to say I learned more about him after he passed than when he was alive, it would have been good to learn that from him when he was alive to tell me.

Rest in peace my friend, I’m sorry I didn’t get to know you better and I pray for comfort for those you left behind, those whose life won’t be the same without you. You left a beautiful legacy.

Haven’t posted in a bit, I’ll work on that. But I’ve been keeping busy. There’s a cold spell in these parts, we’ll be freezing in the overnights until Monday. Right now it’s wanting to rain and then freeze tonight, so not fun. Winter in Texas is painful for the simple fact we just don’t have enough of it to be ready for it. There’s no nice snowfall that gently fills the fields, it’s usually an ice storm, and everything that’s close to a bridge (like half the roads) freezes. I remember snow in PA, I guess with a lot fewer people and the equipment to clear the roads and a little common sense, it wasn’t all that bad. Too many people, no common sense, and sparse equipment make for bad winter events here.

Yes, it’s been a week since I posted but what a week. The new server is up and running I’m happy to say. There’s part of me that’s lamenting that I just didn’t get a new server, they have Amazon reconditioned that are like $1200 with a kick-ass processer and dual power supply and not much else. I would really like to know what happens to decommissioned servers from the Google cloud or AWS, we should be able to buy them on the cheap. In any case, RHEL 8.5 is installed and the new drives are in and working great. RHEL installation used all available space for the XFS, not sure how I feel about that but it’s a done deal. Also finally gave in and blew $200 for 64 GB of ECC memory, should be in next Friday. That will allow for proper virtualization. I do love hosting my own server, it’s a dying art though but it makes me happy so I’ll keep it up. Have the main websites up, just need to get the ancillary ones running and the mail, that’ll be a PITA but I’ve got the old configuration, still need to install fail2ban also. Never a dull moment.

The new camera system is in and running, I did all the wiring myself. My one regret is I didn’t do POE when I first put in a system when I moved in 10 years ago. Running the cat5 was so much easier than the other BNC or RJ12 BS, I used termination boxes so it’s all modular, still need to clean up the wiring closet but damn it looks good and the cameras are sharp, even Sandy has a login and is enjoying the new capability. And the coup de Graz is the Lorex smart doorbell which is hardwired. Super thrilled about that as it’s one less device to worry about batteries. Just need to figure out the indoor notification.

I’m happy today, things went well at work, I got the new fiberglass extending antenna pole and managed to get it mounted, much less sway than with the PVC it replaced. And it added another 6 feet or so. No new channels though but I’m hoping it will stabilize some of the wavy channels.

Also got my new pants from Duluth Trading Company today also, they fit really well, they may be a little long but they fit really well and I’m happy with them. Sandy said they’re old man’s clothes. Now I’ve never been a dedicated follower of fashion but I know what I look good in and these don’t look bad. I felt like I wanted to be seen.

Also made it to the eye doctor, so I’ve got a prescription for computer glasses, long-distance glasses, and contacts not I have to try to find the best price on them. I got daily wear contacts for a change, hopefully, I’ll be able to take better care of my eyes with the glasses and contacts.

The Xterra is due for inspection/registration by the end of the month so I headed up to the corner inspection station, it’s always hit or miss there, sometimes you just drive right in but they always seem to have a bunch of cars there like there’s a wait so I’m never quite sure. It costs $25.50 for the inspection, then you have to go register on the state website, which is $73.75.
So the total administrative fee for a year on the Xterra is $98.25. This of course is leaving out the insurance which they check, and that’s a chunk of change.

But I have to admit that getting your vehicle inspected and registered here in Texas is a whole world better than what they do in Pennsylvania. I used to dread inspections up there because state inspection stations try (and succeed) in forcing you to get repairs by their whim. You can take the same car to 3 different stations and get three different reasons why it won’t pass inspection. I only had one vehicle fail inspection down here and it was for a burned-out bulb, fixed in under 5 minutes for under $5.

It wasn’t a bad Sunday at all. Had the test for a course at 11:30 this morning, gave me time to cram a bit before the test. I was sure I failed, I passed. To celebrate we went to Olive Garden, they were kind of busy for 3:30 in the afternoon but there wasn’t a real wait. We got the $5 take home also so we’re eating OG for the next two days at least. Trying to finish up January’s hours, just need to do that before AR gets in tomorrow morning.

Also tomorrow I’m going on a schedule, up at 7 and on the treadmill. I can watch TV and walk as I wake up. Have the HVAC all set to get things where they should be to do this. We’ll see how that goes.

It crept above the freezing mark today. It was Friday but I didn’t feel like doing anything, I need to get hours in for last month and I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I can’t seem to get anything done. Hopefully, this too shall pass.

Sandy had a fun day seeing what Cali was into last night on the cameras, evidently, our little piggy came for food several times throughout the night. I’m glad I gave her a login and showed her how to use the system, it makes me feel good to know she’s using it too and it’s not just for me.

Sammy and Rocky have been sleeping all day but that’s what they do, love those little critters. I tried making meatloaf by temperature, I cooked it to 165 by probe but it still didn’t feel like it was cooked, I ate my portion but we had to cook it for another 30 minutes before it was good for Sandy. Guess we’ll cook it by time again next time.